Giants say they need to protect Eli Manning vs. 49ers on Sunday

SAN FRANCISCO – Bill Parcells is a hard grader, but even he came away impressed.

The 49ers gave Eli Manning some pounding nine months ago and the two-time Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Giants recently called the physical punishment “one of the worst beatings that I’ve ever seen a quarterback take,” marveling at how “he hung in there ’til the end.”

Manning is hardly in denial about those hits he got during the Giants’ last visit to Candlestick Park, but he insists any pain absorbed from being knocked to the ground over and over again that night in the NFC Championship game is long forgotten.

The emotions of leading his team to a thrilling victory for a trip to Super Bowl XLVI, where Manning won his second MVP award, chased away that soreness pretty fast.

“After the game, I really didn’t feel like I took a beating,” Manning told The Record exclusively after practice Friday. “You’re playing for bigger things. You’ve got a chance to go to the Super Bowl. You’ve got a chance to be NFC champions. So that’s your mind-set – you’re just worrying about the next play and finding a way to win. You’re so focused on something else it never really felt like I was taking a lot of big hits.

“You know, 64 times you drop back to throw it, you’re going to take some hits.”

Officially the 49ers laid a dirty dozen hits from just about every angle on Manning, who was sacked six times and constantly found himself getting up out of the mud, pulling his jersey back over disjointed shoulder pads and heading back to the huddle.

In preparation for seeing the second-ranked San Francisco defense in today’s highly anticipated rematch between these NFC powerhouses, the Giants responsible for not keeping Manning upright last time were forced to watch their ineptitude again.

As part of the weekly game-planning, the Giants’ offensive line assembled in its meeting room and reviewed video clips of the NFC title game – many of which served as motivation for the group in the off-season. There was plenty of cringing to go around Thursday, and no one who played in the game and had his struggles captured on film was safe from the embarrassment and disgust.

“A lot of sound effects in the room the other day,” reserve guard Mitch Petrus said. “Not only with the quarterback getting hit, but an offensive lineman getting blown up, it’s never fun to watch. It’s just not a good feeling for anyone to relive it again.”

Manning was sacked three times in the Giants’ opening night loss to Dallas. In the four games since, he’s been sacked just once and not at all in the last two.

What that means, of course, is that the opposition has brought down Manning less in five weeks of this season than it did over the course of that one game in January.

“Just don’t do it again – I guess that’s the lesson,” center David Baas said. “You never want to hear those stats or see Eli on the ground as much as he was that day. So that’s the best lesson: learn from it and don’t let it happen again.”

With his linemen rallying around him and vowing to put forth a better effort today, Manning is quick to point out the Giants certainly would benefit from a more balanced attack this time. As Parcells did, teammates have praised Manning’s toughness and Tom Coughlin suggested the way he handled a difficult situation paid big dividends.

“He wasn’t going to stay down. He was on his feet, actually, before anybody else most of the time,” Coughlin said. “He bounced up and he doesn’t let that affect the next call or the next play, and that’s where he’s unique in his ability as he’s grown and understood more about the role that he plays and the message that he sends to everyone.”

The Giants believe San Francisco’s greatest strength is its ability to exploit mistakes in all three levels defensively, especially with as many as seven potential All-Pros — including tackle Justin Smith and linebackers Navorro Bowman and Patrick Willis — gearing up to get after Manning one more time.

Manning should have the team’s full complement of weapons at his disposal, including star wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who is expected to play after missing the last three games with knee and foot issues.

“It’s as painful during the game when you’re picking him up, but also when you’re watching the tape the next day and you’re seeing your quarterback lying on the field,” three-time All-Pro right guard Chris Snee said. “I mean, it’s not something you want. This is our job to keep him upright and clearly he’s shown what he can do if we do keep him upright. It’s a horrible feeling when you have to see your quarterback’s jersey stained all over and see him looking banged up after the game – it’s not a good thing.”

Against the 49ers in last years playoffs, Eli Manning was sacked six times and constantly found himself getting up out of the mud, pulling his jersey back over disjointed shoulder pads and heading back to the huddle.